The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office (SMPSO), with a total staff of 142, provides law enforcement services to a population of 48,232. The SMPSO is comprised of multiple units including Administration, Civil, Marine Section, Victim Services, Investigations, and the Public Information Office. The SMPSO reports a recent increase in firearm-related violence within its jurisdiction, particularly among offenders under the age of 18.

To address this challenge, the SMPSO was awarded Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI) funding to implement a Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) model to provide services to select youth in the juvenile justice system. The TBRI model was developed at Texas Christian University (TCU) and is designed to meet the basic relational and developmental needs of at-risk youth. The SMPSO staff will work with juvenile court staff and community partners, including faith-based agencies, to identify program participants and implement the TBRI model. TCU will provide support for program implementation and for assessing the impact of the TBRI model.